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Opinion Poll: Small Business Owners are Hiring, but are Struggling to Find the Right Job Candidates

Publisher:

Small Business Majority

Date:

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Scientific opinion poll finds small business owners are hiring, but those doing so are having a hard time finding candidates with the right background; they support programs such as apprentice and internships to identify and increase the number of qualified workers.

Key Findings

Majority of small business owners are hiring, yet struggle to find qualified workers: 54% of small employers say they have hired new employees over the past three years. However, despite business growth, the vast majority of entrepreneurs struggle to find qualified employees. A 56% majority identify “finding candidates with the right kind of experiences” as the biggest difficulty they face when hiring new employees; another 54% identify “finding candidates with the right education, skills or training.” A collective 95% of these small employers pick at least one response related to background, qualifications or experience when asked about their biggest difficulty when making new hires.

Vast majority of small businesses are hiring new employees

Over the past three years, have you hired or attempted to hire any new employees.

Small businesses support addressing job skills gap through apprenticeship programs: 55% of entrepreneurs say they are interested in employing and developing apprentices through a formal, structured training program.

Entrepreneurs are interested in implementing on-the-job training programs: More than six in 10 (61%) support implementing a structured, on-the-job training program for employees.